


Unanswered

by autumnsolstice9



Series: Justice [12]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17182838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: He has the byakugan and has chosen not to see. For this, Hinata will kill him.Or: Hinata vs. Hiashi, the match that was meant to be.





	Unanswered

**Author's Note:**

> :-)

Her father stares at her, fire in his eyes, and Hinata wants to scream. 

She wants to ask if he is proud of the monster he has made, if he takes pleasure in seeing her go from obedient daughter to blood traitor. There is so much she wants to ask him, so many questions that will be left unanswered when this all ends, but Hinata cannot bring the words to her lips. If she asked him why he hated her, she would crumble, and she has spent too many years perfecting the art of holding herself together to ever fall to pieces.

“The clan is toxic,” she says, voice quiet compared to the whispers of the Hyuuga that surround them. She is certain that he has to strain to hear her, and takes pleasure in the thought that for once in her life her father will _listen_. “You would curse your own brethren, and for what? Control? Power?”

“For protection,” her father tells her, “To keep the byakugan safe, which you obviously have had trouble doing.”

“And yet here I am, eyes intact, wondering why the descendents of gods need slavery to keep their clan safe. The Hyuuga boast about their strength yet hide behind seals. You mocked me as weak, yet I do not hide behind fear.”

“You have always been a disappointment to the Hyuuga,” her father tells her, easing into the gentle fist stance.

Hinata takes up her own stance. “I have always been Hinata before Hyuuga,” she tells him, her hands filling with chakra, “And you have always been a pathetic excuse for a leader.”

They both charge each other, and for a split second she is transported back into the past, when she was just a girl trying to please her father and knowing she would fail to do so. Heartbreak and rage fill her, but she locks those emotions away, clearing her head for her fight.

Her father strikes first, moving his hand out, fast as a viper. Hinata ducks, moving one hand to pivot on the floor and swing her leg out, her free hand moving out, lightning crackling at her fingertips, when her father jumps back. She quickly gets back up, reforming her stance, her father moving in a circle with her like two lions. His eyes are narrowed, analyzing, and a grin blooms on her face. Her father thinks he knows her- he thinks she is weak, that she is unwilling to fight, much less kill, he thinks she is meek and a disgrace.

He doesn’t know her- he never has. He does not know how fire burns in her soul, how there is lightning in her veins, how she has watched and learned more outside the clan than she ever has inside it. He doesn’t know that she has spent years silently resenting him, that she has seen Hanabi nearly collapse from training and made vows to protect her sister from their father. He has not watched her blossom under the care of Kurenai, or the way her confidence has grown with Kiba and Shino’s love. He has never taken the time to learn how Hinata loves more than anything and has spent years working to be worthy of love, or how she has received love that kept her alive and strong.

He knows nothing. He does not know how his clan could prosper if they learned to change with time. He has chosen to ignore how the noble Hyuuga clan kills its own name by placing seals on its people. How could they be a great clan if they do not give their people all the support they need, if they destroy the fire in Hyuuga veins?

He has the byakugan and has chosen not to see. For this, Hinata will kill him. 

Her father meets her eyes across the clearing they are calling battleground, a silent challenge, and Hinata runs towards him to answer it. For each strike she hands out, he blocks and gifts her an attack. She can feel his chakra, strong and steady, filled with years of experience, and knows that, despite being his daughter, he will not hesitate to kill her.

Hinata brings a leg up, intending to strike her fathers knees, but he jumps back yet again. He may be fast, but she has spent months doing nothing but fighting and running, and she has the edge. Her foot hits his chin, Hinata infusing chakra into the hit at the very last second, sending her father flying into the crowd, which quickly parts away from their clan head. 

There are cheers surrounding her, but she does not pause. Her father is quickly back on his feet, his mouth twisted into a surprised grin. “Perhaps,” he says, moving to wipe some blood off his lips, “I have underestimated you.”

It is the closest she has ever gotten to approval.

Her father charges at her this time, his long hair flying behind him. As she blocks his strikes, she wonders what he thinks of her short hair, a clear rejection of the Hyuuga main house. She wonders if any part of him was worried when he saw the scar on her face. She wonders if he cares.

A near hit to her gut sends her stumbling backwards, pulling her out of her thoughts. In her vision, she sees Neji and Hanabi at the front of the crowd, their bodies tense. Neji and Ko both have a hand wrapped around Hanabi’s arm, clearly holding her back. She can see her sister shouting, can hear her. _“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”_

Hanabi has always been more of a daughter than a sister to her, Neji more of a brother than a cousin, Ko more of a father than a guardian. Her people have always been more than what they are, and for that, Hinata will fight. Not for the will of fire, or to prove herself, or to walk by Naruto’s side, but to ensure that her people are safe and free.

She adds more chakra to her hands, prepares herself for Hiashi’s next strike, and continues fighting her father. They exchange blow after blow, byakugan versus byakugan, a block for every hit they throw at each other. She is quickly growing exhausted and knows that she will not last longer. Soon, one of them will inevitably pull ahead and win.

It does not surprise her that her father takes advantage of her fatigue and weakness from nearly-healed war injuries. Though he does not know anything about his daughter, Hinata is certain he knows of her failures. Chakra fills her hand as her father grows close, crackling and bright when he strikes her chest over the scars Neji left years ago, narrowly missing her heart.

She can feel the scar tissue tear open and pain shoots through her body, but as her father moves his hand away, Hinata moves to grasp his shoulder, holding him close. There are gasps of the Hyuuga, her cousin and sister’s anguished cries, a roar so familiar she can feel it in her bleeding heart, but all Hinata focuses on is the high pitched chirping of the chakra in her hand as she plunges her free hand into her father’s chest. Let him think he has hurt her, when she has him exactly where she wants him.

“Chidori,” she whispers into the night as her father’s blood splatters onto her face and she collapses onto her knees, taking a moment to breathe, assessing how much damage her scar tissue has faced.

“Please,” she says, her eyesight fuzzy as she stares out into the crowd, “may a medic come and heal my wounds?”

A woman moves through the crowd, her byakugan activated as she looks at Hinata’s chest. “Hinata-hime… this may be more serious than we can deal with.”

She gives the woman a bloody smile. “Just do your best.”

“Hinata-hime,” another asks, “What happens now?”

Hinata blearily stares up at whoever is speaking before turning her gaze to the crowd, her vision becoming clearer as the medic-nin works on Hinata’s chest. They stand, uncertain, some staring unbelievingly at Hiashi’s corpse, some looking at her as if she is their savior. For the first time that night, it is utterly silent.

She takes a deep breath and a staggering step to her feet. She looks through the crowd and up towards the rooftops where she noticed Tsunade and Naruto’s presence. While she can see the grim acceptance in Tsunade, she finds she cannot read the orange-clad ninja’s expression. “Now,” she tells the crowd, never looking away from Naruto, “We bring change to the Hyuuga.”

The crowd cheers, but she keeps staring at Naruto on the rooftop. Somewhere in Naruto’s gaze she sees the promise he made to change the Hyuuga. She sees the boy who inspires change, who made her want to change into a better person, and thinks that in some roundabout way, he kept his promise. He changed her, and now the Hyuuga will follow in her footsteps. He helped her become strong, and now her clan will finally be free.

_What do you think of me now?,_ she wants to ask, _What do you think of a kinslaying kunoichi? Do you hate me because my change took a different path than yours ever would? Did you ever truly know who I am? Do you know now?_

Hinata tears her gaze away to look at her father’s body. Some part of her mourns him, even if she wishes she didn’t. He was a vile man, but he was her father, and justice tastes like ash on her tongue.

“Hokage-sama,” Hinata calls out, hushing the surrounding Hyuuga, “What will you do with me?”

The Hokage jumps down from where she stands, walking through the crowd that parts before her. “You’re a missing-nin,” she growls out, though the corner of her lips are upturned, “But you’re a war hero who has done no harm to Konoha. Clan affairs are out of my hands. I would welcome you back, but the council needs to be gather before that can happen.”

With that, the Hokage and Naruto begin their retreat out of the compound. Neji and Hanabi move to stand by her side, a united front.

Hinata looks towards the burning main house. “There will be no longer be division between the branch and main house. The council is dead, your clan head is dead. Who do you wish to lead?”

The crowd begins to murmur amongst itself before someone moves forward- an old woman that has been around longer than most of the Hyuuga. “You, Hinata-hime,” she says with a smile, even though all Hinata wants to do is scream as the burden of leadership is placed on her shoulders, “We want you.”

Hinata closes her eyes for a brief second, taking in one last moment of tumultuous peace, before grabbing Hanabi and Neji’s hands. “I accept.”

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday hinata!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> i know the series seems like it could end here but im gonna add a few more pieces to wrap it up. thank you all so much for the kudos and comments and reading!!!!!!!!!


End file.
